Do you want to be promoted?
Of course you do. There’s something distinctly human about being recognized, rewarded, and celebrated for our achievement.
Especially for musicians and creative types, we dream of the day when we take our rightful place on the pedestal.
I remember the first time I participated in the National Fine Arts program, performing a Dino Kartsonakis piano solo. The song was “My Tribute (To God Be the Glory)”.
Now, aside from the fact that this song really tugs at people’s heartstrings, I played it fairly well. Musicians and music teachers knew I was gifted and the non-musical thought I was a genius.
In my little world of Assemblies of God Western PA, I became somewhat of a musical celebrity. Score. Expectations in my mind rose to grand heights of dominating the mountain of musical achievement for the rest of my life.
My problem? I was an addict.
My love for recognition and fame became an addiction that would own me.
Ambition and Accomplishment
We all want to make a difference with our lives. We dream of living the dream – reaching the top, being promoted, writing that book, recording that platinum album, being financially secure, having a personal assistant, and being in high demand.
Take a deep breath. I’m not here to tell you that ambition is wrong. Fame isn’t wrong. I didn’t write this in order to crush your hopes and dreams with a few simple keystrokes on my Macbook pro (I am a pretty good typer, though. Please email your compliments to…).
If you have ambition, that is admirable. The problem is how you get there. There is a specific path to greatness – a journey that the man or woman of God is destined to walk.
His path is counter-intuitive, painful to pride. It’s not about searching for the largest crowd, the brightest spotlight and knocking people over to shine in its limelight. God’s path is good for your soul and glorifying to Him. And you know what? God’s opinion is all that matters. Stop trying to please the masses and get busy pleasing God (You can tweet that, if you’d like).
The problem? We try to reach greatness in all the wrong ways. We short circuit the unseen (what God cares about) and place our attention on the crowds.
God’s Path To Greatness
So let’s enlighten the path. What does God have to say about greatness? What is the path to making the biggest difference with our lives?
1. Seek First the Kingdom – Matthew 6:33 is a verse we all love to quote. It really does roll off the tongue nice. It looks even better framed on the living room wall. But it gives pride a whack in the face.
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Our life focus needs to be on the Kingdom of God – what is on God’s heart? What is His priority? What problem does He have that He needs me to solve? This is looking at life through a whole new lens. It’s not about what you can accomplish and the mark you can leave on the world. It’s about God’s priorities becoming yours. If you own and take care of what God loves, He’ll take care of the rest.
2. Keep Your Character – People can see your talent, but they can’t always see your character. That’s what makes character so important. Remember 1 Samuel 16:7?
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Character is like the foundation that the rest of your life is built upon. If it’s poorly constructed, you won’t last. One of the most important questions you’ll ever ask is, “Who am I when no one is watching?”
3. Serve – God’s path to greatness isn’t lined with photo shoots and red carpets. It’s about getting on your knees and scrubbing the floor, so to speak. What did Jesus say?
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
Not sure what you’re supposed to do with your life? Unsure of your next step? Find someone to serve. You can be sure you’re in the center of God’s will when you do that.
OK, now it’s time for you to speak up.
What is God’s definition of greatness?
How do we get there?
What kind of a person attracts God’s favor and blessing?
Leave a quick word in the comments. Go for it. This is where the real meat and potatoes is.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
Love this post. Dino, wow, who would’ve known?
To add to the conversation “God gives grace to the humble”
And living in His grace is like nothing else in the world.
You have touched the essence of the life of a worshipper.
Thanks
The first thing you have to get out of your head and heart if you’re really going to be an effective worship leader is caring about promotion, getting recognized, etc. You have to do your music because your heart is resonating to His love, and your worship is your gift back to Him as a response to His love. The others listening in are really listening in to a “private” vibration of love from your heart to Jesus’ heart. Being a good musician, and all the practical worship skills are critical vehicles that allow the transmission of this heart resonance to occur.
It is easy to get tangled up in evaluating your worth as a musician/worship leader to God on the basis of what other people think and respond to as you minister. But you can’t let your conception of your worth as a worship leader be totally influenced by what any particular group of people think about your work. You can do the same work in one group and they will love it and you and respond; another group or person will tear that same work to shreds. You have to play your music life to God first.
There are cycles in every musician’s life. God raises you up sometimes, brings you down other times. It frequently isn’t totally about you, but about other people. Case in point: Elijah after the confrontation with the prophets of Baal. That situation was all about worship. Elijah with God’s help did a fabulous job with re-focusing the people’s attention on God. How many of our worship services bring physical fire from God down from heaven to our altars? (The insurance companies really wouldn’t go for the pyrotechnic effects.) Yet, Jezebel was on his case and out to destroy him immediately after. So you have to stay true to God, and let God decide your results. This is tough in a production oriented culture.
Some good points here, my friend. Forgetting about promotion is easier said than done, isn’t it?
1 Peter 5:5 & 6
Our rewards are not in nor of this world. It took me a long time to understand that Psalm 37:4 wasn’t talking about the high paying job, a big house and a Mercedes. And it isn’t refering to recognition or praise from people of this world. Our recognition comes when our jobs here are done.
As a child, I remember people saying, “watch what you say, who you hang around with, what you do, etc., because people will think you’re weird/odd/brainwashed/insert-derogatory-word-here”. Eventually I learned that it doesn’t matter what I do or say because people are going to ‘think’ either way. No matter what I do, people will ‘think’ about me; they will have their opinions, good and bad, and there is little I can do to change it. What I can do is live for Christ. I don’t care what anyone ‘thinks’. If I don’t care what they think about me, why would I value their recognition and rewards? If someone offers praise or recognition of me, I will politely say ‘thank you’ and remind them that it’s all for the glory of God. I didn’t get to this point on my own, nor from any of my doing, so I can’t take any credit for it.
I disagree that ambition OK. Paul pulled no punches in his various letters when it came to ambition and seeking fame. A couple of examples:
Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
James 3:13-16
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
He uses the phrase “selfish ambition”, but I find no references to “unselfish ambition” being acceptable. I’m not sure the phrase ‘unselfish ambition’ even makes senese… it’s an oxymoron. Christ told us that the meek will inherit the earth. Perhaps I have missed it, but I don’t see pride and/or ambition being viewed in a positive way anywhere in Scripture.
The path of Christ is not one that leads to recognition and reward in this world. From my perspective, quite the opposite is true – a true follower of Christ can expect nothing but scorn and ridicule along their walk.
Just my opinion…
Damon
Damon, I don’t believe ambition is wrong as long as it’s channeled in the right direction. Without it, you probably won’t accomplish anything worthwhile with your life. It’s just a matter of having a God-ambition – pouring your life into the things that matter to God. One of the definitions of “ambition” in the dictionary is: “a desire to achieve a particular end.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Matter of fact, we need that kind of passion, drive, and desire to live meaningful lives.
Unless I misunderstood, ‘achieving a particular end’ wasn’t the point of your post. “Being recognized, rewarded, and celebrated for our achievement” was the focus, correct? If so, that type of ambition, even if supported by a desire to glorify God, is not Scripturally sound.
You are correct; that is one definition of ‘ambition’. But I don’t think it is the commonly accepted definition. Webster’s has it as, “an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.” That is exactly the type of ‘selfish ambition’ Paul warned us about.
You also cited Matthew 6:33 in your post. That’s great, but I think a lot of folks take “and all these things will be added unto you” out of context. It’s similar to what I said about Psalm 37:4. The ‘desires of your heart’ may be wealth, fame, etc., but that isn’t what David was talking about. He isn’t saying that if we delight in the Lord, He will give us what we want. His point is that when we delight in the Lord, He will reveal our true desires, which will only be desires that glorify God. I’m sorry, but I don’t see anything in Scripture that says a desire revealed to us will be recognition and praise from our peers, or wealth and power.
John 5:41-44 is harsh on this point, especially verse 44 – “How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” Those are Christ’s words. In Galatians 1:10, Paul is rather harsh as well, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
In your post you stated:
“If you have ambition, that is admirable. The problem is how you get there. There is a specific path to greatness”
Just above that, you stated:
“We all want to make a difference with our lives. We dream of living the dream – reaching the top, being promoted, writing that book, recording that platinum album, being financially secure, having a personal assistant, and being in high demand”
Perhaps I’m reading it incorrectly, but it sounds like you’re likening the “greatness” to ‘reaching the top, being promoted’, etc. Matthew 6:33 does say, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you”, but Christ specifically listed what those things are in the preceding verses – clothes, food, and other basic necessities. He says nothing about fame, wealth, recognition or advancement in this life. In Mathew 8:19-20, a lawyer comes to Christ and says ‘I want to follow you’. Christ’s only reply is, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” The next guy that wants to follow Him says he needs to go bury his father. Christ’s response is once again harsh, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own.” To me, that says that a true follower of Christ doesn’t need the “finer things in life” and will never have them. He’s telling us that a true follower has no need of the things of this world. Again, our reward is not in this world.
Maybe I’ve completely misread your post. If so, my apologizes. The only worthwhile thing I wish to accomplish in this life is to do what Christ commanded – share the Gospel and make disciples. I can’t think of anything that would be more meaningful, and I don’t need ambition to do that. In my opinion, and understanding of Scripture, ambition is only going to get in the way of fulfilling that command. If you know of a place in Scripture that tells us that a follower of Chris will enjoy praise, riches, and power on this earth, please share it.
Here is my observation and opinion:
Damon, you seem to draw conclusions by reading your pre-existing opinions into the text. Take your interpretation of Psalm 37:4. You say “he isn’t saying that if we delight in the Lord, He will give us what we want. His point is that when we delight in the Lord, He will reveal our true desires, which will only be desires that glorify God.”
That simply is not found in the text. The verses say nothing of God changing desires or revealing truer (more holy?) desires. It says He will give you the desires of your heart. He goes on to say that God will make our righteousness shine the dawn, and our vindication like the noonday sun. Verse 11 says the meek will inherit the land, enjoying peace and prosperity. Prosperity through land inheritance sounds like wealth and power to me. Funny that it hinges on meekness, or humility, as well as submission to God.
I would hesitate to take that one verse and then declare that all believers are entitled to wealth and power. But I would also hesitate to take a few verses about Jesus and declare that all Christians should be poor and powerless, with a sole focus on evangelism at all costs.
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amen damon